Translocating Metropolitan Display Strategies in Nineteenth-Century Europe: Frederick Stibbert, Henri Moser, and their Orientalist Style Rooms

Abstract

Abstract In the nineteenth century, the display of Islamic art and furniture was not only integrated into ethnographic collections and international exhibitions, but also formed an essential part of the home of amateurs as well as of the political, social, and cultural elites. Private collections accounted for an important step towards the valorization and reception of Islamic art in the west. This article examines the display strategies of collections located at the crossroads between private and public space by closely examining two style rooms integrated in private museums – the Stibbert collection in Florence, Italy, and the Moser collection in Neuhausen, near Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Both collectors had first-hand experience of the Orient due to their travels, with Stibbert focusing on al-Andalus and Moser on Central Asia, which inspired them to build up extensive art collections. The examples illustrate the importance of transnational relations for the establishment and display of collections that re-contextualized objects by presenting them within seemingly authentic oriental atmospheres specifically created for this purpose.